Bathtub air vent



Sept. 24, 1957 B. F.'MONDALE BATHTUB AIR VENT Filed March 28, 1955 IIII/ III will V'IIIIJIIJIII United States Patent BATHTUB AIR VENT BufordF. Mondale, St. Paul, Minn. Application March 28, 1955, Serial No.497,039

2 Claims. (Cl. 4-179) This invention relates to heating vents and morespecifically relates to apparatus for discharging heating air into abathroom.

Bathrooms in modern small houses are generally quite small and crowdedand the amount of wall space adjacent the floor is at a minimum. It isoftentimes difficult to build in heating ducts or other sources of heatinto bathroom walls because the various fi xtures occupy a substantial;portion of the wall area and because the water and drain pipes occupymuch of the space between the walls. This is especially so in thebathroom walls adjacent the sink and toilet bowl. To get away from thewater and drain pipes, air duct openings have frequently been built intothe bathroom walls at approximately eye level which is quiteobjectionable to at least many people. One of the largest uninterruptedexpanses of wall area in a bathroom is that which extends along theinner side of the bathtub. Although certain types of bathtubs have beendeveloped in the past for discharging heat from beneath the tub or fromthe outer wall thereof, such bathtubs have had distinct disadvantages.One of the most important disadvantages is that the bathtub constructionis made substantially more complicated by putting heating vents of thecommonly known type into the outer apron wall.

Therefore it is to the substantial elimination of these and otherdisadvantages that my invention is directed,

along with the inclusion therein of other novel features.

An object of my invention is to provide a bathtub construction which isadapted to cooperate with the room and wall surfaces to provide aheating air duct for discharging air through the bathtub apron sidewall.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a novel vent in abathtub apron side wall which is of simple and inexpensive constructionand which will permit air to be discharged through the bathtub apronside wall without permitting water from the room to enter the chamberbeneath the tub.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a bathtubconstruction to form a plenum chamber beneath the tub and to providefurther discharge of heating air from the plenum chamber downwardlytoward the bathroom floor and over a large area of the floor.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross section view taken on a vertical plane through abuilding construction and showing the bathtub including my invention inside elevation and partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section view taken on a vertical plane substantially at 22of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a detail section view similar to a portion of Fig. 2 andshowing a modified form of my invention.

The building construction is provided with suitably supported floor andwall surfacings 10 and 11 respectively "ice and a heating air duct 12which opens through wall 11 adjacent the juncture between wall 11 andfloor 10. Of course the heat duct 12 will be connected to a suitablesource of hot air such as a furnace for supplying heating air to thebathroom. The bathtub construction which is indicated in general bynumeral 13 includes substantially upright inner side walls 14, end walls15 and a bottom 16, all of which are sealingly connected together andmay be formed integrally of a continuous sheet of rigid material such assteel. An outwardly extending flange portion 17 may be formed integrallyof the inner side walls 14 and extends around the entire periphery ofthe tub rim. Outer apron walls 18 extend downwardly from the flangeportion 17 to the floor and may provide structural support for the tub.Depending upon the nature of the installation of the bathtub, an apronwall may be provided only at one side of the tub or may be provided atone end of the tub in addition to the side apron wall. In the formshown, apron wall is provided along one longitudinal side of the tub andacross one end thereof. The bottom edges of the apron walls 18 and theouter edges of flange 17 which engage the wall surfacing are allsealingly connected to the respective surfaces so as to make the jointbetween the tub walls and the room surfacings water tight. The bottom 16of the tub is suppoited in spaced relation above the room floor10. Thetub walls and bottom and the room wall and floor surfaces cooperate todefine an air plenum chamber beneath the tub which communicates with thesource of heating air, such as duct 12.

An elongated slot opening 19 is formed in the outer apron wall 18 andextends substantially horizontally. Slot 19 could as well be formed inthe apron wall which extends across the end of the tub or an additionalopening similar to 19 may be formed in the end apron wall 18. A baflieor deflector plate 20 is attached to the apron side wall adjacent thelower edge of opening 19 therein, and deflector plate 20 extendsupwardly and inwardly of the chamber. Deflector plate 20 is, in the formshown, formed integrally of the outer apron wall 18 and may be formed bya stamping operation in the construction of the tub, or in cast iron tubconstruction, this can be a part of the original casting.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the apron side wall 25 is providedwith an opening 26 at the bottom edge thereof and the deflector plate 27is again mounted at the bottom edge of the opening 26 to extend upwardlyand inwardly into the chamber 28 beneath the tub. In this form of theinvention the apron side wall may be mounted directly on the floor ormay be mounted on a block or rail 29. Deflector plate 27 may be formedintegrally of the apron side wall, being connected thereto at its endsor may be mounted on the rail 29. In this form of the invention thebaflle plate 27 may be constructed to swing into the plane of the apronside wall 25 to close the vent opening 26.

In operation, heating air will be delivered through the air duct 12 intothe plenum chamber beneath the tub. Air will thereupon be discharged ina generally downward direction outwardly through the vent opening 18 asshown by arrows A. Even though there may be considerable splashing whenthe bathtub is used, especially as by children, so as to cause water todrain down the outside of the apron side wall 18, the deflector plate 20will restrict entrance of water into the plenum chamber beneath the tub.This is especially true where a shower head is incorporated with thebathtub fixtures because oftentimes the shower curtain is left hangingon the outside of the tub apron wall and will cause water to drain downthe outer side of the tub.

It should be seen that I have provided a new and improved bathtubconstruction for permitting heating air r g r 3 to be discharged"through the tub apron side wall in a generally downward direction tothoroughly heat the floor area of the bathroom and in a manner thatwater is restricted from entering the plenum chamber beneath jthe-tnb.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, detail, arrangement and proof the parts without departing fromthe scope of my invention which consists of the matter described thereinand set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bath tub construction for use in a building room havingmom-defining floor and wall surfaces, comprising abnthtuh sealed to theroom-defining surfaces and having sealingiy interconnected inner tubwalls, a bottom and at least one apron wall depending from the rim ofthe tub 10 the floor, said bottom being spaced off the floor andcooperating with said walls to define a plenum chamber u lmmlmicatingwith an air duct in one of the roomsurfaces, said apron wall having aslot opening flereinfor discharging air from the plenum chamber into theroom, said slot opening having upper and lower edges, inclined deflectorplate formed integrally of said apron wall and extending upwardly fromsaid lower edge into said chamber, said plate being arranged forrestrictin; water running down the apron wall from entering said plenumchamber, whereby heating air will circulate -4 through said chamber andout the opening in said apron wall.

2. An air vent construction for use in a bathroom having floor and wallsurfaces and a heating duct discharging air through one of the sameadjacent the juncture between the floor and wall, comprising a bathtubhaving integral upright inner walls and a bottom and at least one outerapron wall, said walls having edges adapted for sealed connection tosuch room-defining surfaces to define a plenum chamber between said tuband such room-defining surfaces, said plenum chamber communicating withsuch an air duct, said apron wall having an elongated and generallyhorizontally extending opening therein for discharging heating airtherethrough, said opening having a lower portion, and an inclineddeflector plate connected with said apron wall adjacent the lowerportion of said opening and extending upwardly and inwardly of thechamber to preclude water running down the side of the tub from enteringsaid chamber, whereby heating air discharged through said opening willbe directed toward the floor of the room.

Catto Apr. 19, 1932 Fellipone Dec. 13, 1938

